January 6

Christmas Ain’t Over

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

For years, I’d always get a little sad around this time, knowing that Christmas Day was drawing to a close and with it Christmas for another year. I’d always have a bit of a letdown, although New Year’s Eve helped a bit.

This year, I’m celebrating for as long as I can. I refuse to let go of Christmas even after all the decorations are taken down and put back into boxes destined for the attic until next November. Even when all the stores go back to business as usual and all the radio stations revert back to their regular rotation of music, I still hold on to Christmas.

I’m siding with the ancients who took 12 whole days to encapture fully all that Jesus our Emmanuel born on this day means. If you want to truly understand this concept, read the book Winter Fire: Christmas with G. K. Chesterton. It will change your thinking about Christmas for sure.

The 12 days of Christmas last from December 25 until January 6, the Epiphany which celebrates the circumcision of Jesus, the visit of the Wise Men, and the wedding at Cana, according to my internet sources. So that means that there are 11 more days to party.

But for me, Christmas isn’t a date on a calendar but a state of mind. I want to carry that mindset with me beyond January 6 into the new year and all the way up until it’s socially acceptable to celebrate Christmas again in 2025.

I will take down my tree and put away my decorations, but I won’t stop the spirit of Christmas. I might even listen to Christmas records and watch Christmas movies past January. The audacity! And as always, I will definitely be on the lookout for After Christmas Day Bargains for decorations for next Christmas.

But as one man said, Jesus doesn’t just live in our hearts one day out of the year but all the days of the year, and all the years of all our lives. So why should Christmas stop on December 25 or even January 6?

It’s Christmas (Eve) Again

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

In years past, I couldn’t help but feel the inevitable letdown that came once Christmas had come and gone. It was as if I spent all that time and energy waiting for one day that went by awfully fast.

But I’ve learned to appreciate Christmas more in and of itself, aside from all the gifts and trappings.

For me, the more I celebrate the advent season, the less Christmas becomes about one single day and the more it becomes about the entrance into our world of the infant Immanuel, God with us.

If you follow the 12 days of Christmas, then you know that Christmas doesn’t really end until January 6. So this year, I’m milking the holiday for all it’s worth.

Yeah, I like presents. I like giving them, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I liked getting them, too. But more than presents, I like being around family and the intentional togetherness fostered by the celebration of the Christ child who came to bring us peace.

I love what I heard in a sermon tonight. Jesus came to take away our fear and give us joy.

That’s what Christmas is really about, Charlie Brown.